


Forever and Ever

by caswinchesterbaby



Series: Always and Forever [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpha Dean, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - High School, John isn't a dick, Kid Fic, Knotting, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omega Castiel, True Mates, at some points
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-17
Updated: 2015-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-30 21:50:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3953038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caswinchesterbaby/pseuds/caswinchesterbaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The same day that little Sammy Winchester is born, Dean scents his true mate for the first time. He may not know what that scent is, but he knows that nothing has ever smelt that beautiful in his four short years of life and nothing else ever will.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forever and Ever

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first ever A/B/O fic, so please cut me some slack if everything isn't perfect. Omega Castiel is literally one of my favorite things ever. Thanks so much for reading! :)

Dean holds his daddy’s hand as they stroll through the hospital corridor, letting his small fingers be enveloped in Daddy’s much larger ones. Mommy’s just given birth to a pup and Dean’s going to go see it. He hopes it’s a boy; he’s always wanted a little brother.

The hospital corridors smell funny, like the cleaning ladies have been using too much bleach. Dean doesn’t like it; it’s much too strong for his sensitive nose. He clutches his daddy’s hand tighter and totters on.

They pass the nursery room, where a whole bunch of little pups are swaddled in blankets and are sleeping. That’s where the new pup is, but first Dean and Daddy have to go see Mommy. When they get to Mommy’s hospital room Dean lets go of Daddy’s hand and runs up to Mommy.

“Mommy!” Dean squeals as he jumps up onto the bed with some help from Daddy and hugs her.

Mommy makes an “oomph” sound but then laughs breathily, a clear smile on her lips. “Hello, my beautiful little Dean.”

“When can I see the pup?” Dean asks excitedly. “Is it a boy? I hope it’s a boy.”

Mommy smiles and hugs Dean tighter, stretching her hand out to take Daddy’s. “You can see Samuel in a few minutes.”

Dean perks up immediately. “Samueh? I have a baby bro’er!”

“Yes, baby,” Mommy says. Dean’s falls into her chest and hugs her so tightly he swears he’ll never let go. He has a baby brother! Dean’s on cloud nine, so overcome with joy. “Sammy’s resting for now, so he can grow big and strong just like you, Dean.”

Dean wants to see baby Sammy so badly it hurts. The harsh smell of the hospital is muted by the floral-like presence of his mother. Daddy always smells like the forest, but Mommy smells like flowers. Dean doesn’t know what he smells like, or what baby Sammy smells like yet.

He has no idea how long he waits, his head resting on Mommy’s shoulder and his arms wrapped around her waist, but eventually a nurse comes in with a bundle of some sorts. Dean immediately sits up and eyes the nurse. The bundle is crying.

Excited now, Dean sniffs the air. There’s a new clean smell, but that’s just the nurse. Outside of that is something else, something sweet. It smells like candy, like the bestest candy in the whole wide world.

“Sammy!” Dean shouts and tries to jump off of the hospital bed, but Mommy holds him back with her arm looped around his waist.

Daddy takes Dean in his arms and the nurse gives Sammy to Mommy. He’s so little. Sammy keeps crying until Mommy nurses him and he quiets. Dean’s leaning as far over in Daddy’s hold as he can, peering at the newborn pup. Sammy’s so _small_. Was Dean that small when he was a little pup?

Mommy looks up at him and smiles. “Do you wanna meet your little brother, Dean?”

Dean nods his head enthusiastically and is released from Daddy’s hold. He shuffles over to Mommy’s side and eyes the pup cautiously. It’s face is all red and it’s eyes are squeezed shut. It looks like a potato, Dean notes to himself. Mommy laughs, so maybe he said it aloud.

“C-can I hold him?” Dean asks, looking up at Mommy with wide green eyes.

Mommy looks at Daddy but Dean’s eyes never leave the pup. He can’t get over how small and new it is.

“Come sit next to me, baby,” Mommy says. She scoots over on the hospital bed and Daddy lifts Dean so that he can sit next to her.

“You need to be extra careful with the pup, Dean,” Daddy says.

Dean meets his eyes and sees how serious he is. “I won’t let you down, Daddy.”

Mommy passes the pup to Dean an eternity later – only a few minutes – and Dean happily takes the pup into his arms. Mommy and Daddy are next to him on both sides, so he isn’t scared. He won’t let them down, he won’t.

Baby Sammy’s face contorts and reddens even more while he’s being settled in Dean’s arms, but then his face relaxes and he opens his eyes. Dean’s assaulted by warm honey colored irises and a wide, brilliant smile stretches across his lips. This is his little brother, this is the pup that Dean would fight Heaven and Hell to save.

“He’s so little,” Dean murmurs, still gazing at the pup.

Mommy kisses him on the forehead before resting against the pillows on the hospital bed. “You were that small too, once upon a time.”

Sammy’s looking at Dean with soft eyes and Dean’s overcome with the need to protect and nurture. This is his little brother. He scents the air and smells that candy-like aroma once more.

“You smell like candy,” Dean whispers to the pup. “And you’re my little brother. Hello, baby Sammy. I’m Dean, your big brother. I love you, Sammy. I’ll always play with you and teach you lots of things. Now I have someone to play with when Mommy and Daddy are busy.” Dean leans down and presses his lips against the pup’s forehead in a gentle kiss. “I can’t wait until you get older and we can play together.”

Daddy’s hand comes to rest on Dean’s head. Dean looks up and sees adoration in his father’s eyes. Never in Dean’s life has he been as happy as he is right now.

Mommy and Daddy let Dean hold the pup until Sammy starts crying again, and then Mommy takes Sammy back and nurses him.

“Why don’t we go and get something from the hospital cafeteria while Mommy nurses Sammy. What do you say, Dean?” Daddy asks.

Dean’s gaze lingers on the pup, but then his traitor stomach gives a loud growl. “Alright,” Dean says. “But then can we come back to see Sammy and Mommy?”

“Of course, baby,” Mommy says. “Now go eat, a nurse will bring me food soon.”

Dean kisses baby Sammy on the forehead once more before tottering out of the room with Daddy. It’s as they’re passing the nursery room that Dean stops in his tracks because there’s something in the air and it smells _amazing_. He looks everywhere around him, but there’s no one there except for Daddy and the pups in the nursery. He sniffs again and his little legs carry him around the hallway in an excited search for the source of that scent.

It smells the way the air does right before a thunderstorm, but mixed with something sweet, like honey. Dean turns around in circles sniffing loudly trying to find whatever it is that smells so _good_.

“Dean?” Daddy asks, resting his palm on Dean’s shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you _smell_ that?” Dean practically shouts in his excitement. He barely remembers to keep his voice down around all those sleeping pups.

Daddy gets a strange look on his face before smiling softly. “No, Dean, I don’t. Let’s go to the cafeteria.”

“But I wanna find it!”

“ _Dean_ ,” Daddy says. “Let’s go. I’m sure you’ll find them again.”

Dean’s so focused on trying to listen to his dad and not search aimlessly for the source of that beautiful scent that he doesn’t realize what his daddy just said. Dean has no idea that he’s only four years old and he just scented his true mate for the first time.

 

~*~

 

“Dean, give it back!”

“Never!”

“ _Moommmmyyy!_ ”

“Dean, give Sammy his treasure map back.”

“Fine,” Dean grumbles and hands Sammy the treasure map. It’s really just a piece of blank paper that has a few scribbled landmarks from the backyard scrawled on it. Mommy made it. Dean’s eight, he doesn’t believe in buried treasure anymore. He’s much too old for such childish games.

“Dean, we gots tah go six steps forward until we reach a tree!” Sammy shouts and grabs Dean’s hand. They play the game for hours, just like they have been all summer. It’s only once it’s starting to get dark that a bunch of stormy clouds come rolling in.

“Look!” Sammy shouts and points to the sky. Dean watches as the clouds surround what must be the whole town.

Mommy leads them to the porch and they sit under the roof and watch as the rain starts to fall. Dean sniffs the air and beams. It smells like that smell he found when Sammy was born, but not quite it. Nonetheless, it reminds Dean of the scent and that’s enough for him. It’s missing the honey part, but that’s okay.

Dean takes big gulps of the scent and sighs blissfully. Someday he’ll find the source of that beautiful scent, but for now thunderstorms are just as awesome.

 

~*~

 

Dean sneezes into a tissue and groans at the amount of snot that exits through his nose. Bleh, disgusting. He’s never gotten allergies before, but the early May weather has gotten him bad this year. He’s been quarantined to his room for today because Sammy’s having a big birthday party. Pride swells in Dean’s chest among phlegm – ew, disgusting, _again_. Sammy’s turning eight on Monday.

All the kids from Sammy’s class at school, all twenty three of them, are outside running around. Dean sighs and resists the urge to stare longingly out his window. He wants to go out and play with them, but he _can’t_. At least it sounds like they’re all having fun. Sam was upset when Mommy and Daddy said that Dean would have to stay in his room, but if his excited squeals coming in through the window are anything to go by, he’s okay now.

There’s a knock on the door and Dean eyes it cautiously. He’s pretty sure that Mommy and Daddy are both outside still. Nonetheless, Dean walks over to the door and cracks it open. Daddy’s standing there with a platter of food and a large glass of soda.

“Figured you’d be getting hungry around now,” he says, walking into the room when Dean makes room for him. Dean closes the door behind them and sits down on his bed with a sigh. “Cheer up, son. A few kids were asking about you, if it makes you feel any better.”

“Really?” Dean asks.

Daddy smiles and ruffles Dean’s short brown hair. “Of course, kiddo.”

Dean takes a bite out of his sandwich – turkey and American cheese like always. Daddy brought soda, that means today’s even more special. Dean doesn’t get to drink soda all that often.

“Sammy’s getting old, isn’t he,” Daddy says absently. Dean nods and takes another bite of his sandwich. He still remembers the day Sam was born, how excited Dean had been.

“I can’t believe I’m missing his birthday party because of allergies,” Dean mumbles angrily. Sammy’s birthday parties are always fun, and Sammy’s always so happy that he smells like an entire candy store. It’s awesome.

Daddy’s eyes soften and he sits beside Dean on his bed. “It’s alright, Dean. You’ll make it next year. Besides, Sammy’s birthday isn’t even until Monday.”

Dean rolls his eyes, a gesture his dad isn’t overly fond of if the edge of annoyance in his scent is anything to go by. “But still.”

They talk for a little while over the shrieks of laughter and chatter from outside until Dean’s finished with his food and then Daddy says he’ll check on him later. Daddy takes the plate and empty glass of Cherry Coke, and leaves Dean to be alone. Again.

Dean sighs and stalks over to his window, blowing his runny nose at the same time. He watches as a couple of kids chase each other around the back yard and sighs. He could be playing right now, too. He’s just about to go back to his bed and read his new Spiderman comic book when he smells it.

Dean’s practically salivating in his bedroom. It smells like thunderstorms and honey, he’s sure of it now. It’s the same scent from the hospital when Sam was born. Whatever it was must be outside _right now_. Dean wants nothing more than to go outside and sniff everything until he finds the source, but Mommy and Daddy were very specific when they said he’d have to stay in his room until all the kids went home.

Dean slumps over to his bed and wraps himself in his blankets. After all, he doesn’t want to get any of the other kids sick. That scent though, it clings to the air now that Dean’s caught it. Dean clutches the blankets closer and pretends that he’s being enveloped in the source of that scent.

He falls into slumber with a soft smile on his face. Unaware, he just smelled his mate for the second time in his life.

 

~*~

 

Dean sits down on the couch across from his mother and father and looks up at them. He tries to subtly wipe the sweat from his palms onto his jeans, but his mother catches him.

“You aren’t in trouble,” Mom says with a fond smile. “Your father and I just want to talk to you about some stuff. You know, adult to adult.”

“I’m fifteen,” Dean says. “Not exactly an adult.”

“This is something all young men and women need to talk about,” Dad says. Dean swallows against the lump in his throat. They say he’s not in trouble, yet it feels like he is.

Mom and Dad are holding hands, which Dean figures means they’re either happy or have really bad news. He’s hoping for the former.

“You know that I’m an omega and your father is an alpha,” Mom starts. Dean can see her rubbing small circles onto Dad’s hand with her thumb. He can scent his father’s discomfort, but there seems to be a spike of pride mixed in as well.

“Yes,” Dean says slowly.

Mom smiles. She doesn’t seem as uncomfortable as the rest of them. Good thing Sammy’s at soccer practice, or else he’d be coughing from all the pheromones clogging up the house.

“Well, when I was seventeen, I presented as an omega,” Mom continues. “Being an omega means that I can bear children. Alphas, like your dad, can mate either beta females or omegas and still be able to have children. Similarly, an omega can mate either an alpha or a beta male and be fertile.”

Dean has absolutely no idea why his mom is telling him this stuff. He already knows about alphas, betas, and omegas. He wants to be an alpha, just like his dad. It would be okay if he presents as a beta, but he’d still be disappointed.

“You’re going to present soon, son,” Dad says. “We just want you to be ready and to know that no matter what you present, we’ll still love you.”

Dean looks down at his hands and nods. This is the most awkward situation he’s ever been in.

It gets worse. Next, his mom starts talking about mating, literally mating. Dean never wanted to get the sex talk, but here he is blushing and staring at his hands while his mom talks about the biology of alphas, betas, and omegas.

Dean can never look at his parents the same way again.

A month later, after trying many times to burn the memory of The Talk out of his mind, Dean’s sitting towards the middle of the school bus when Alastair Carter starts talking loudly about omegas.

“They’re all a bunch of sluts,” he says with an air of knowledge. “All they want are knots.” The hair on the back of Dean’s neck rises, but he doesn’t turn around to face Alastair. “Fuck, you should hear those sluts when they’re in heat. _Fuck me Alpha, breed me, ooohhh, I’m so weeettt._ They’re all a bunch of worthless whores. No good unless sucking my cock.”

Dean’s out of his seat and punching Alastair in the nose before he even realizes what he’s doing. As soon as his fist is drawn back and the blood is gushing from Alastair’s nose, Dean knows he’s made a big mistake. Alastair, a senior, is not only two years older than Dean, but has already presented as an Alpha. _Shit._

Alastair smiles, a cold and empty promise of pain. Dean’s mouth opens to stutter out an apology, but he never gets the chance. Alastair grabs his shoulders and pins him to the bench of the bus seat and then he’s on him. Dean’s entire body has never hurt so much in his entire life.

“You like hitting people, Winchester?” Alastair screams. “Over worthless whores! You’re just as bad as those omegas,” he spits, punching Dean in the stomach.

Dean’s eyes are squeezed tight and he’s groaning in pain. It’s no use fighting back, Alastair deflects every attempt Dean makes. The bus lurches to a stop, but Alastair keeps punching into Dean’s abdomen.

“Hey!” the bus driver yells. “Break it up!”

Dean opens his eyes in time to see the bus driver, Bobby Singer, reach over the seat and grab Alastair off of him. The punching stops, but Alastair nails one last kick to Dean’s groin before he’s pulled too far away. Dean howls out in pain and clutches his throbbing groin.

“Let’s see how wet you get now, Winchester,” Alastair spits as he’s dragged down the alley and to the front of the bus.

Once Alastair’s safely away from Dean, Bobby comes back to check on Dean. “You alright, son?”

“Y-yeah,” Dean stutters. Bobby sees right through the lie.

A rough hand pats him on the shoulder and he winces. “You’ll be home soon enough, Dean. You’re old man will know what to do if he’s around.”

Soon enough turns out to be much sooner than usual. Most kids run off the bus when it’s their stop, they’re in such a rush to get away. Dean always gets off before Alastair, which means the older alpha is still sitting in the front row when Dean limps up the alley.

“Get yourself fixed up and I’ll contact the school telling them what happened,” Bobby says.

“Thanks,” Dean mumbles. He’s about to start down the steps when Alastair pipes up.

“Just wait until you present, bitch. I’ll own you.”

Dean almost trips down the stairs in his haste to get away. He should have just stayed in his seat; he never should have punched Alastair. His life is going to be hell now. God, if Dean presents as omega then he’s dead.

Mom nearly has a heart attack when she catches sight of Dean. Yeah, he better not be an omega.

 

~*~

 

The day starts off normal; Dean wakes up grudgingly, gets dressed, and goes to school. The first two periods of classes go by the same as always, but it’s once Dean’s falling asleep to Mrs. Tran’s tenth grade history lecture that he starts to feel funny. There’s a weird tension in his stomach, one that’s almost painful.

The room smells gross, there are so many scents assaulting his nose all at once. They’re all too strong, it’s dizzying. His head is pounding and his vision keeps getting blurry.

Dean staggers out of his seat to sign out to go to the bathroom, but goes right by it and heads to the nurse. Something is definitely wrong with him. _This is it, this is how I die._

A few kids in the hallways give him weird looks, but no one questions him on what he’s doing. When he makes it to the nurse’s office, Mrs. Harvelle is immediately helping him to sit down. The room is spinning around him and he’s about two seconds away from passing out.

His body is heating up, as if it’s trying to focus on one thing _but he doesn’t know what it is_.

“Dean, can you hear me?”

Dean nods and tries to answer, but all that comes out is a groan. Mrs. Harvelle smells different, smells wrong. She smells the same as always, but there’s something off about it, something that Dean never noticed before. What the hell is going on?

“I’m going to call your parents and have them bring you home,” Mrs. Harvelle tells him. “Dean, listen to me, you’re going into rut.”

_Shit_. Dean’s equally excited and fucking pissed. He’s really an alpha, yes, that’s exciting, but Jesus Christ it hurts.

“Congratulations on becoming an alpha.”

Dean could laugh if he had the sense to do it _. Fuck you, Alastair,_ he thinks. Guess he won’t be his bitch after all.

“Cheer up, kiddo, the pain will go away soon enough and then you’ll definitely not want to be in school for what happens after.”

Mrs. Harvelle goes over to the phone, leaving Dean sitting on the bench breathing heavily while she talks to his mom. He’s going to die.

Twenty minutes later Mom shows up and practically drags Dean into the car, telling Mrs. Harvelle that she’ll see her this weekend for Jo’s birthday.

“I can’t believe my little boy’s an alpha!” Mom says once they’re driving home. “This is so exciting!”

“Mom,” Dean groans. “Please stop.”

God, his entire stomach and groin are on fire. He’s in so much pain, he barely resists the urge to snarl. Red is starting to bleed into his vision and it’s just making everything worse. They’re still a few minutes away from the house but all Dean wants to do is curl up and die.

“Drive faster,” Dean grits out. He realizes belatedly that it comes out as an order. Was that his voice? It sounded so deep and growly.

“Shit,” Mom curses and Dean definitely feels the increase in the car’s speed. By the time they make it home Dean is sweating profusely and his dick feels like it’s about to explode. Also, he’s going to faint any second now.

Dean goes straight to his room and slams the door. He has no idea where his sudden aggression came from, but he’s so fucking angry right now. He can hear his mom on the phone downstairs, probably calling Dad to come home and talk to Dean.

A snarl erupts in the room and it takes longer than it should for Dean to realize that it was him that made that noise. He has so much anger but nowhere and no one to direct it at. He ends up jumping onto his bed, making the mattress creak from the sudden weight, and punching his pillow. It’s too soft and doesn’t help. He stomps away after leaving a crater in the wall above his bed.

His vision is flooded with red; he’s barely able to see normally. Even worse, he can feel a dense pressure building at the base of his cock. His entire member is throbbing, but Dean’s so angry he doesn’t even have the urge to relieve the pressure.

No, instead he’d much rather stomp around his bedroom snarling out at no one.

He has no idea how much time passes, but at some point there’s a heavy knock at his door. Dean stomps across the room and throws open the door with a snarled, “What do you want?”

Dad is standing there with an enraged alpha red look in his eyes. He pushes his way into Dean’s room and snarls at him. Dean’s instincts tell him to fight, but the small part of him that’s still there tells him to back the fuck down. This is _Dad_. And he is _pissed_.

“Control yourself,” Dad shouts. “How _dare_ you try to command my mate. You’re lucky I’m not killing you since this is your first rut.”

Dean’s snarling and holding his hands in fists by his sides, but Dad still corners Dean into the wall. Even in his pheromone drugged up state of mind, Dean still knows enough not to fight his dad. He doesn’t have a death wish, after all.

“Submit to me,” Dad growls.

Dean growls back, but Dad just growls louder and deeper. Dean’s never heard him do that before. The sight of his dad so enraged and full alpha makes Dean’s growl taper off and causes him to look towards the ground. He’s still shaking with rage, but he’s got it under control now.

“Thank you,” Dean whispers, his vision clearing somewhat. His teeth are clenched and his fingernails are drawing blood from his palms, but Dean refuses to let his instincts take over. It doesn’t matter that he’s going into rut, he won’t let the animal inside him win.

When Dean looks back up, Dad is smiling. What the fuck? Dad’s hand claps down onto Dean’s shoulder and he squeezes.

“I’m so proud of you, Dean,” Dad says. All the red is gone from his eyes and he smells of pure and raw happiness. “I always knew you’d be an alpha.”

“Dad, what’s going on?” Dean can’t do this. He knew about the loss of control whenever a teenager presents, but he had no idea it was this bad. He doesn’t even feel like himself. Is this how he’s going to be for the rest of his life?

Dad’s smile only brightens at that. “Were you even paying attention when your mother and I talked to you about presentations? You’re going to be angry, confused, and fucking horny.” Dad laughs and his eyes twinkle. The smell of alpha is radiating from him like he’s a goddamn pheromone factory. “God, my first rut sucked. I’ll find you some stuff to help you, but this is gonna last a few days. Get ready to stick it out.”

A low growl rumbles in the back of Dean’s throat but he tramps it down. _No_ , he internally shouts at his instincts.

“I’m gonna head to the store and be back in a half hour. Mary didn’t think you’d present for another couple of months,” Dad says as he heads to the door. Just before he closes it he looks at Dean levelly and says, dangerously close to a growl, “And Dean, don’t ever try to use your Alpha voice on Mary again, or I’ll kill you.”

Dean swallows and looks back down at the floor. It’s only once he hears Dad’s truck starting up that he rips his head up and growls again. He’s just so _angry_. He’s angry at his instincts for being angry, and he has no fucking idea why his instincts are even angry in the first place.

He ends up somewhat giving in to them by stripping out of his jeans and boxers and getting himself off to completion. The knot is what scares him. He’s heard lots about them, sure, but he’s never actually dealt with one. It’s big and gross and it _hurts_. When Dean strokes over it, trying desperately to get it to go down, he just ends up coming even more. How much of that shit is in him? Never in his life has he came this much with one orgasm.

Dean’s came three times by the time his dad throws in some lube and a plastic fake omega hole thirty minutes later.

When he passes out from exhaustion that night, he second guesses having always wanted to be an alpha.

 

~*~

 

“I can’t believe you presented in the middle of class!” Sammy squeals. Dean ignores him, instead staring stubbornly at the box of cereal in front of him. “That’s so awkward.”

“You’re awkward,” Dean throws back.

“Boys,” Mom chastises. “Be nice. And you, Sammy, don’t tease your brother.”

Sam gasps and clutches a hand to his heart. “But I just want to know more about Dean becoming an alpha!”

“I was angry and horny, nothing much else to it,” Dean shrugs.

Sam scrunches up his nose and gives Dean a bitch face. “Thanks, Dean. Appreciate it.”

“Always looking out for my little bro,” Dean says with a sarcastic smile.

 

~*~

 

It’s when they’re washing the dishes after dinner that Sam clears his throat awkwardly. Dean looks at him weirdly, but Sam just sort of shrugs.

“So, uh,” Sam tries for casual but it’s not working. Dean can see right through it. “Did you know that Castiel Novak presented as an omega like a few weeks ago? I didn’t even know that guys could _be_ omegas. I thought they were just chicks.”

Sam’s always been one for gossip, even when it has to do with his own friends.

“Sam,” Mom chastises, interrupting them. “Male omegas are perfectly normal. They’re rare, but there’s nothing wrong with them.”

Dean shrugs and continues washing the plate he has in his hands. He thinks he remembers Castiel, the back haired blue eyed kid that used to be in a few of Sam’s classes. The kid doesn’t stand out in his memory other than a shared birthday party between him and Sam.

“I had no idea that they even existed,” Sam says. There’s a faraway look in his eye.

“Not used to not knowing things, aren’t ya, Sammy?”

Sam elbows him in the side and laughs. “Nuh-uh, I just…I don’t know. I thought Castiel was joking at first, but it isn’t like him to joke all that often and then I smelled him and, yeah…he’s definitely an omega.”

Dad comes into the kitchen at the end of what Sam’s saying and cocks his head to the side. “There’s a male omega at your school?”

“Yeah!” Sam all but yells. “I didn’t know that could happen! I thought I could only be an alpha or a beta.”

“Huh,” Dad twists his lips in thought. “I’ve never actually met a male omega. I highly doubt you’ll present as such, Sam. The chance of two male omegas in the same town is practically nonexistent.”

Dean purposely doesn’t tell Sam that when the first born presents as an alpha, it most likely means the next child will also. He doesn’t want to crush the poor squirt’s spirit.

“Isn’t Castiel in your grade, Sam?” Mom asks.

“Yeah.”

Mom scrunches her forehead and looks to dad. He has the same questioning look in his eye.

“Well,” Mom says slowly. “Don’t you think twelve is a little young to be presenting?”

Holy shit, Dean didn’t even realize that. He was sixteen when he presented and even _he_ was considered a little young. A twelve year old presenting? And as a male omega?

“Maybe his mate triggered it,” Dad says softly.

“That poor baby,” Mom whispers. They’re all quiet for a while after that. Dean’s heart reaches out for Castiel, it really does. How a twelve year old can present as an omega during middle school is beyond him. And what’s worse, it was probably triggered by a mate – an alpha. Dean’s only heard of a few male omegas, and nothing ever worked out very well for them.

Male omegas are almost always infertile, with the rare fertile one. But male omegas are rare themselves, so being fertile is one in a million. Anyway, most alphas that get mated to a male omega treat the omega poorly. There’ve been multiple cases of domestic abuse featuring male omegas. If an alpha gets a male omega, they almost always mate another omega or beta girl at the same time so that they can have children with them. Having multiple mates might be okay for the alpha, but for the omega it’s like being constantly stabbed through the heart.

Dean barely remembers who Castiel is, but all he wants to do is wrap him in a blanket. Castiel is going to be claimed soon, and more likely than not, it’s going to be horrible for him.

 

~*~

 

“Why don’t you let me knot that pretty little hole of yours? You’d look so good around my cock.”

Dean stops where he’s walking down the hallway and whips his head around to see who the fuck just said that. Azazel meets his eyes and leers.

Trapped between Azazel and a row of lockers is a short, dark haired boy. The boy looks up at Dean and suddenly Dean’s caught in those bright blue eyes. The smell of fear is thick in the air, but Dean’s fury is mixing with it, tinging the air something acrid.

“Release him,” Dean growls. The omega whines and looks frantically between Dean and Azazel. “ _Now._ ”

Azazel growls but complies, letting one of his arms hang loose so Castiel – the only male omega in town – can escape. Castiel does so and quickly shoots down the hallway and presumably to his homeroom class. Dean glares at Azazel and with a final growl, continues on his way.

It’s when he’s halfway through his first day of Physics that he realizes that _the scent_ , the one he smelt as a child, is clinging to his sweatshirt.

Fuck, Dean missed it _again_.

 

~*~

 

“Dean,” Sam calls. Dean turns around where he’s sitting with Benny and Charlie and spots Sammy headings towards him. Sam isn’t alone though, he’s being followed by Castiel and a short blonde girl. When they reach Dean’s lunch table, Benny and Charlie stop arguing over whether Snape is a villain or a hero.

“What’s up, bitch?”

The question was directed at Sammy, but Castiel gasps and his eyes widen in shock. Ah, shit. Way to go, Winchester.

“No, no, it’s okay,” Sam’s quick to reassure his friend. “Dean wasn’t talking to you, Castiel. It’s this thing we have, I call him a jerk and he calls me a bitch. I promise you he intended no offense.”

“Seriously,” Dean says. “I would never call you a bitch. You know that.”

Castiel opens his mouth to say something but then shuts it and looks down at the floor. The blonde girl hooks her arm around his back and an odd possessive urge swirls in his chest. Dean stamps it down and looks back toward his brother.

“What did you want, Sammy?”

Sam rolls his eyes. “Dean, we’ve talked about this. Stop calling me Sammy, it’s Sam.”

“Alright, _Sam,_ ” Dean emphasizes with a smirk. “Why are you gracing us seniors with your freshmen presence?”

Sam chews on his bottom lip and looks up at Dean with puppy dog eyes. “Can we sit with you? Some older kids stole our usual table and we don’t have anywhere else to go…”

Charlie positively beams and scoots closer to Benny. “Of course, little Sammy,” she says. “You and your friends are always welcome with us.”

“I resent that, you know,” Sam says, but he’s smiling and giving off happy pheromones, so Dean knows he’s alright. Sam sits down next to Dean, and Castiel and the blonde girl sit on the other side of Sam.

Charlie gives Sam a knowing look and then asks, “Aren’t you gonna introduce us to your friends?”

Everyone knows who Castiel is, it’s impossible not to. The fact that Charlie asks to be introduced, as if she doesn’t know who he is, makes something in Dean’s heart swell. Damn, he loves his friends.

Sam blushes and coughs. His candy-like scent amplifies so much that Dean’s almost coughing because of it. “This is Jess,” Sam says and motions to the blonde girl. She waves at them and smiles. She smells slightly of mint and rose petals, but is unpresented so far. “And this is Castiel.” There’s a fierce protectiveness in the edge of Sam’s eyes that makes Dean’s heart melt. As much as Dean helps Castiel out in the hallways sometimes, he knows that Sam helps more.

When Dean makes a subtle move of sniffing the air, he’s met with nothing new. He can’t place a scent to Castiel. He knows he’s an omega, that much he can make out, but there’s nothing else – there’s nothing that smells like _him_. He tries not to let his disappointment show.

“Nice to meet you, Jess and Castiel,” Charlie says, all bubbly like usual.

“Stick around as long as you want,” Benny adds. Castiel eyes Benny a little cautiously since he’s an alpha, but he relaxes as the time passes.

The six of them all fall into their own conversations and get along surprisingly well. They get into a debate about global warming and somehow end up talking about the decline of bees. Castiel is animated and almost enraged while leading the topic, teaching them all about their imminent death if the bees disappear.

The way his bright blue eyes sparkle and how he talks with his hands is so adorable that it’s literally giving Dean heart palpitations.

Benny must have caught on to the way Dean was watching Castiel the entire lunch because as soon as the bell rings and they’re headed to their next class he’s poking Dean in the ribs and grinning.

“You fucking like Castiel.”

“No I don’t!” Okay, maybe his response was a little too quick and a little too loud. Nonetheless, a wide grin spreads across Benny’s lips.

“Oh, man, brother,” Benny says. “You’ve got it bad.”

Dean flips him off and goes to class. He’ll never admit that what Benny is saying might be true.

 

~*~

 

Azazel doesn’t exactly stop bothering Castiel. Almost every single morning after the first day of school, Dean sees Azazel either leering at Castiel from across the hallway as the omega gets his books from his locker or he’s pinning him. The sight makes his blood boil.

Today, however, Azazel is doing more than just pinning. The smell of fear and disgust is putrid in the air, drawing Dean immediately to the area of Castiel’s locker. One of Azazel’s nasty, grubby hands is wrapped around Castiel’s throat and the other is kneading at his ass.

“Get wet, baby boy,” Azazel orders with his Alpha voice. “You don’t want our first time to hurt. I’m gonna be claiming that hole whether it’s slick or not.”

Rage boils in Dean’s gut and a snarl rips free from his chest. No one talks to Castiel that way.

“Step away,” Dean growls out warningly. How Azazel couldn’t smell his anger is beyond him, but the other alpha’s eyes are wide when he catches sight of Dean.

“Y-you’re supposed to be on a field trip,” Azazel stutters.

Dean growls again, this time much deeper, and it earns him a high pitched whine from Castiel. “I skipped.”

Azazel, probably noticing the red bleeding into Dean’s vision, backs off. “Stake your claim or he’s free meat.” The alpha jogs off down the hall, leaving Dean in a state of barely controlled rage and Castiel leaning up against the lockers panting. He pointedly ignores Azazel’s fleeting words.

“You alright?” Dean asks.

Castiel looks up and meets his eyes. The bright blue of his irises is stunningly beautiful. Dean’s about to reach out and shake him out of his stunned silence when the omega whines and flees. Strangely, Dean’s left feeling disappointed.

Later that night, while he’s tossing and turning in bed trying to fall asleep, he can’t manage to get those bright blue eyes out of his head.

 

~*~

 

Castiel has a boyfriend. Dean has no idea why it makes him so angry, but it does. He’s sitting in his room brooding while Sammy gossips to Mom about it.

It’s this fancy smancy British beta named Balthazar. A beta? Really? Castiel is a beautiful omega, he could do so much better. _He could have me_ , a voice says in the back of Dean’s mind. He promptly tells that voice to shut the fuck up. Castiel doesn’t want him. Why would he?

Anyway, Balthazar just moved to Lawrence a few weeks ago and already he’s dating Castiel. Dean always sees them holding hands in the hallways or making out by Castiel’s locker whenever he stops by Sam’s at the end of the day. It’s disgusting. All Dean can smell whenever he’s around them is how fucking proud Balthazar is to have Castiel. Dean still has no idea what Castiel’s actual scent is.

It doesn’t matter, Dean tries to tell himself, but it doesn’t work. Who the hell does Balthazar think he is, trying to steal Castiel away from him?

Hold up, what? Dean shakes his head and continues staring at the wall. This is stupid, he has no idea why he’s even pining over the stupid freshman.

Grumpily forcing himself to go downstairs and eat, Dean heads down the stairs. Sam’s sitting at the kitchen counter eating salad like the rabbit that he is.

“You know, Sammy,” Dean teases. “For someone who smells like candy, you sure don’t eat enough of it.”

Sam sends him a bitch face and stabs a piece of lettuce with his fork. “I do not smell like candy.”

Dean laughs and pats his little brother on the back. “Just keep telling yourself that, Sammy boy.”

“At least I don’t smell like campfires and soap,” Sam quips.

Dean actually stops where he’s got the fridge door open and lets it slam shut. “What?”

“I said that –”

“No,” Dean interrupts. “I heard what you said, but…I didn’t know I smelt like that.”

Sam squints at him curiously. “Really? No one’s ever told you?”

Dean doesn’t justify that with an answer. He gets some deli meat from the fridge and makes a roast beef sandwich. When he’s done he sits opposite Sam at the kitchen counter. Sam looks on in distaste as Dean pops a few chips into his mouth.

“Can you get me my calculator?” Sam asks. Dean hadn’t noticed until now that the kid’s doing homework. It’s a Friday night, why is he starting now? When Dean makes no move to get up and retrieve the device Sam groans and rolls his eyes. “Please, Dean?”

“Whatever you wish, Samantha.”

Dean puts his sandwich on his plate and goes up to Sam’s room to dig around his backpack for the calculator. He doesn’t get the chance to start searching for the calculator because as soon as he unzips the backpack he notices a strange dark blue knit hat. Dean quirks an eyebrow and inhales quickly. He grabs the article and brings it to his nose. There’s no scent on the article, just the stale smell of Sam’s backpack.

Shrugging, Dean carries both the hat and the calculator to Sam and places them on the kitchen counter.

“Whose hat is this?”

Sam looks up at the article and curses. “Damn, I forgot to give it back to him. It’s Castiel’s.”

Huh, that explains why Dean can’t place a scent on it. “Do you want me to drop it off at his house? I’m headed to Charlie’s in a little bit anyway.”

“You’d do that?” Sam asks.

“’Course, Sammy.”

An hour later, Dean’s parking the Impala outside of Castiel’s house and pulling his winter jacket tighter around his torso. There’s a thin layer of snow on the ground and it’s forecasted to snow another few inches tonight.

There’s a foreign car in the driveway, but Dean doesn’t think anything of it. He rings the doorbell and waits. He’s never actually been inside of Castiel’s house, but he’s dropped off and picked up Sam here plenty of times. They’d even had a shared birthday party for Sam and Castiel – since they share the same birthday – in his backyard when Sammy was in fourth grade.

Hopefully Castiel isn’t freaked out by Dean showing up randomly at his doorstep, but Dean likes to think that they’re at least somewhat friends now. They sit at the same lunch table every day ever since Azazel and his cronies stole Castiel’s old table.

The front door opens after a few minutes and Dean’s slapped in the face with the scent of the British beta. He should have known that Balthazar would be here.

“You’re not Castiel,” Dean says. Balthazar rolls his eyes and sneers at Dean.

“Look, it can talk.”

Dean’s heard shit from betas about being an alpha, but it never seems to get on his nerves. That is, until now. The way the smarmy bastard looks so smug, leaning on the doorway as if it’s his house. A low growl reverberates in Dean’s throat.

“Dean?”

Dean tears his eyes away from Balthazar’s jugular and sees Castiel standing a few paces behind the beta. The omega looks beautiful, Dean realizes. His black hair is wet and his bright blue eyes are more brilliant than ever. He just got out of the shower. On an inhale, Dean subtly sniffs the air and finds no traces of Castiel’s scent. What the hell?

“Hey, Castiel,” Dean rubs the back of his neck and looks to the ground. He can still feel Balthazar’s glare. “Sammy wanted me to drop off your hat, he forgot to give it back.”

“Oh,” Castiel wiggles around Balthazar, who’s still blocking the doorway, and reaches out to take the knit hat. “He could have kept it. I’ve got plenty.” Nonetheless, Castiel’s slim fingers wrap around the hat and he slowly brings it in to clutch it to his chest. Dean should really stop staring at the omega’s fingers or things are going to get really awkward really fast. “But thank you.”

“Anytime,” Dean smiles. His instincts are overcome with joy at the prospect of making the omega happy. If only Dean could smell him…

“Well, I gotta get to Charlie’s so uhh, see you Monday.”

Castiel smiles back before he’s immediately being wrapped up in Balthazar’s arm. Someday, Dean promises himself, he’ll rip that arm off.

“Goodbye, Dean.”

Dean sends out a final wave. “Bye, Castiel.”

By the time Dean’s back in his warm car and turning the ignition, the front door is already closed and Castiel and Balthazar are out of sight. What he doesn’t know is that behind Balthazar’s back, Castiel is bringing the hat up to his nose and sneaking gulps of Dean’s scent.

 

~*~

 

Being back in Lawrence is weird. The town’s too small. Driving down main roads in his baby, Dean watches as the houses whip by. He hasn’t been back in Lawrence in two years, ever since he left for Boston University in Massachusetts for his freshman year of college. He never came back until now.

Bobby offered him a summer job at the salvage yard and it was an offer he couldn’t refuse. It’s not like he wanted to stay away from Lawrence, it’s just that life in Boston swept him up and made him lose track of time. But it doesn’t matter, because he’s going to be here for three months until classes start up again.

He’s got a lot to catch up on.

Mom screams when he gets home.

“Dean! You said you were coming next week!”

He’s wrapped in a too-tight hug, but he could never ask for anything else. He hugs his mom back just as tightly, forcing the oncoming tears back. “I wanted to surprise you guys.”

Mom’s crying, the scent of her tears and happiness clogging the room. “Sam’s going to be so happy to see that you’re home.” Mom dips her head into Dean’s neck and scents him and he does the same for her. God, he’s missed being home so much more than he realized.

“I’ve missed you so much, Dean,” Mom says through her tears. “My little boy.”

Dean’s own tears are getting harder and harder to keep back. How could he have stayed away from home for two years? How could he have done that to his family? “I’ve missed you too, Mom.”

A long time later, once Mom’s tears have ceased and the air is completely full of happy and inviting pheromones, Mom breaks away and smiles up at Dean.

“I’m so glad you’re home.”

Dean swallows. “It’s good to be home.”

They unpack Dean’s boxes of things he brought back with him from Boston for the next few hours, sharing stories about the house and family and Dean’s times at college. It isn’t as if he hasn’t talked to them, he calls almost every weekend, but it isn’t the same. Being around his mom and being back home…Dean has no idea how he could’ve stayed away so long.

At around two pm, Mom comments that Sam should be getting out of school soon.

“He doesn’t have his license yet, right?”

“No,” Mom says. “And he takes the bus because he wants to be more environmentally friendly.”

A wide grin splits Dean’s face. “I’m gonna go surprise him at school.”

That’s how Dean finds himself sitting on the hood of the Impala waiting for the final bell to ring in the high school slash junior high. He just hopes that Sam doesn’t go straight onto the bus without passing through the parking lot.

Sure enough, at two fifteen when the final bell rings and everyone starts making a mad dash for their cars, Dean spots a tall sixteen year old with floppy brown hair and langly limbs. The little squirt must have grown at least ten inches since the last time Dean saw him.

Walking with Sam are two other students whom Dean immediately recognizes as Castiel and Jess. The three of them are all chattering happily. Someone tells a joke – probably Sam – and they all explode into laughter. Dean’s missed that group of kids so much. He’s pondering how to show them that he’s there when Castiel suddenly stops in his tracks and whips his head toward where Dean’s sat on the hood of the Impala. Sam and Jess stop a few paces ahead of him and look back. They’re still a few hundred feet away from Dean, but he can see Sam asking Castiel what’s wrong.

When Castiel’s eyes lock onto Dean’s, he knows that the element of surprise is lost. They stare at each other for an eternity before Dean finds the sense to lift his hand and wave. In the blink of an eye, Castiel is breaking from Jess’s grip around his arm and running toward Dean.

Sam yells out “Castiel!” but Castiel ignores him and keeps running. Dean’s frozen watching as Sam and Jess run after Castiel, calling out to him without gaining any response. It’s when Castiel is ten feet away and Sam and Jess are fifty feet away that they all stop. Castiel is panting, eyes still locked onto Dean’s, but he isn’t moving forward.

Sam’s eyes take over his entire face and he’s smiling like a mad man. “Dean!”

And then everyone’s moving again. Castiel reaches him first, of course, but Sam and Jess aren’t far behind. Before Dean can even being to think of how to greet them all, he’s being enveloped in a group hug. All of them are talking at once, speaking over each other and squealing. There are a few whimpers too, which Dean figures are Sam being the baby he is.

“Alright, alright,” Dean says, feigning annoyance. “Gimme some air.”

They all pull back and Dean’s met with three sets of matching grins. “Sam said you weren’t coming back until next week,” Jess says.

“Wanted it to be a surprise.”

Dean ruffles Sam’s hair, which gains him an outburst of protest. “You need a haircut, Samsquatch. And when did you get so freaking tall?”

“He went through a massive growth spurt a few –” Castiel cuts off and scents the air. It’s subtle, but Dean’s paying so much attention that he notices in a heartbeat. Castiel’s even more beautiful than he was when Dean graduated high school. He’s more grown into his body now, but his hair is still that eternal black messiness. And shit, his eyes. Is it possible that they got even brighter since Dean last saw him?

Those bright eyes freeze over. Castiel slits his eyes and says, “– months ago,” with a steely indifference.

Dean’s taken back by the sudden anger rolling off of Castiel – again, the only fucking scents he can make from the omega. What the hell is his problem? Sam and Jess must notice it too because they both give Castiel questioning looks.

“Umm, so, do you guys want a ride?” Dean asks, trying to diffuse the tension.

“Yeah!” Jess grabs Sam’s hand and leads him into the backseat with her. Sammy hasn’t admitted it yet, but Dean knows for a fact that those two are dating. Castiel looks like he’s about to protest, there’s still anger reverberating off his skin, but Sam sends him a look and then he’s crawling in behind them.

“You know,” Dean drawls, walking around the car and taking his spot in the driver’s seat. “You don’t have to all squish into the back seat.”

It’s selfish for Dean to want Castiel to be sitting in the front with him, but he can’t help it. He’s thought of the omega every day since he left Kansas, every dream and fantasy haunted by his ghost. Being near him again…Dean’s going to get addicted.

As it turns out, Castiel and Jess were coming over to the Winchester household after school today anyway to work on an English project. As soon as the wheels of the Impala come to a halt in the driveway, Castiel is out of the car and striding into the house.

“Anybody know why Mr. Grumpy Pants is so pissed at me?” Dean asks.

Sam and Jess share a look before Sam sighs and shakes his head. “I don’t think you really wanna know.”

“C’mon, Sammy,” Dean whines. “Just tell me.”

Sam chews on his bottom lip in indecision and Dean’ s about to bribe him when Jess blurts out, “Castiel is totally jealous!”

“ _What?_ ”

Jess takes a deep breath before pushing on, a big smile on her face. “Your car reeks of omega and ever since you left for Boston – well, even before that, actually – Castiel talks about you all the time and asks Sam how you’re doing at least twice a week.”

Dean cocks an eyebrow. “Really?”

“You can’t make this shit up.”

“Oh.” Dean chews on his bottom lip and looks out the windshield at the garage. “The omega scent is my roommate Kevin.”

“Are you…” Sam prompts.

“No!” Dean pulls a face. “He’s like a little brother to me.”

Sam shrugs and makes to get out of the car before he pauses. “Please don’t tell Castiel that we told you any of this. He would kill us.”

“I won’t.”

Later that night when they’re all sitting at the dinner table – Dad included, having also been surprised and pleased to see Dean home earlier than expected – Castiel makes a point of staring at Dean almost the entire time. The anger is still there, but it’s muted.

When he goes to sleep that night in his own bed, it’s to images of bright blue eyes and raven black hair.

 

~*~

 

“Goddamn, Novak,” Dean curses. “I didn’t know you could devour that much popcorn.”

Castiel smirks at Dean from across the living room before turning back to the movie. He, Dean, Sam, Jess, Charlie, and Benny are all sitting in the den watching Star Trek just like they used to when Dean was still in high school. It’s making him so goddamn nostalgic it almost hurts.

He’s only been home for three weeks, but it’s already starting to feel as if he never left. The six of them have been hanging out in all their free time from work and school, just like they always had before college.

Dean’s sitting wedged between Charlie and Benny on the couch, Sam and Jess are sitting together on the love seat (Sam finally admitted to Dean that he and Jess are dating, even though neither of them have actually presented yet), and Castiel is sitting alone on the recliner. Every now and then Dean would get the feeling that someone was watching him, but whenever he looked he’d just see Castiel stuffing his face with popcorn.

Castiel isn’t pissed at Dean anymore. A few days after he arrived back home he subtly slipped into conversation how he’d been living with Kevin and his “stupid library scent” was getting all over his stuff. After that, Castiel was much easier to talk to.

Mom and Dad are away for the weekend for their anniversary, which leaves Dean and Sam home alone. But since Dean’s twenty, it really isn’t an issue. The only actual issue is the lack of food in the house. Dean loves to cook, he really does, but after cooking all his meals for two years, it just gets tiring sometimes.

“If I order a pizza, would anyone eat it?” Dean asks.

Everyone says yes, with a “Hell yeah, brother,” from Benny, so Dean wiggles out from between Charlie and Benny and heads into the kitchen to make the call.

“The wait is going to be forty minutes,” the receptionist says.

“Forty minutes?” What the hell?

“Yes, unless you’d like to pick it up at the store, which would make it maybe fifteen. We’re really busy on Friday nights, sir, I’m sorry.”

Dean rubs his face and checks the time. It’s still pretty early, he might as well drive and pick it up. “Don’t apologize, I get it. Make it a pick-up, then.”

He walks back into the den to announce that he’s going to go to the local pizza parlor and that he’ll be back in about a half an hour.

“I’ll go with you,” Castiel volunteers. Dean’s going to tell him not to bother, that he’ll be fine on his own, _that he really doesn’t want to be alone in a small space with this beautiful and amazing omega whom he really doesn’t want to take advantage of_ , but Castiel is already out of his seat and heading to the front door.

This is going to be awkward.

The first few minutes in the car are quiet, just them talking about the show, but after that it gets much more interesting.

“Did you meet any omegas that you liked in Boston?”

The question is so sudden and completely random that Dean almost swerves the car slightly to the right when he hears it. “What? N-no.” It’s not exactly a lie, but it isn’t the whole truth.

Castiel squints his eyes and glares at him. “You’re lying to me, Dean. I can smell your distress.”

He might as well. “I met this one girl, Lisa Braeden, and I thought I might have liked her, but things just didn’t work out.”

“How?”

Dean shrugs. “I guess I just didn’t like her as much as I thought I should have.” What Dean very carefully doesn’t say is that he couldn’t even make it through one date with her without wondering what it would be like to be with Castiel instead. He doesn’t dare look to see what Castiel’s reaction is. “What about you? Last time I checked you were dating Balthazar.”

Castiel makes a noise of disgust and Dean’s inner alpha absolutely purrs. “Please don’t remind me.”

“That bad?”

There’s a snort from the other side of the front bench. “I broke up with him within the first week of my sophomore year. The guy was a dick.”

“Yeah, he kinda was.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Dean’s heart stops beating and he chances a look over to see Castiel with his head cocked to the side. _Why didn’t I tell you that I’m totally in love with you?_ “If you thought he was a dick, then why didn’t you warn me?”

“It was your choice and you seemed happy.”

Castiel doesn’t say anything after that, so neither does Dean. They’re both too lost in thought to continue the conversation. Castiel really had seemed happy when he was with Balthazar. Dick or not, he made Castiel happy. Who was Dean to try to take that happiness away because of his own selfish desires?

The pizza parlor is crowded when they walk in. There’s a bar located on the opposite wall of the parlor and it’s overflowing with people. Back in Boston there were enough pubs and bars that they never seemed _too_ busy, just busy enough.

There’s still another few minutes left until their order is done so they hang back and wait. They start talking about the show again due to lack of any other conversation topics, but are soon interrupted.

A drunk and rowdy middle aged alpha makes his way over to them and eyes Castiel like he’s a piece of meat. “Hello, sexy,” the alpha slurs. “I bet you’re a screamer. All slut omegas are.”

Castiel’s eyes are on fire with a burning rage. The last time Dean had seen Castiel get hit on – or rather harassed – was two years ago when Castiel was a freshman. Unlike the terrified omega that he was, this Castiel is much more in control. Dean’s too stunned to even say anything.

“Please leave me alone,” Castiel growls.

“Aww, you’re playing hard to get.” The alpha winks at Castiel and Dean wants nothing more than to slice his throat. “My knot is nice and big, you’d be moaning for hours.”

“Piss off,” Castiel growls again.

This seems to get through to the alpha, but instead of taking it as he should, he takes it as a challenge. He pushes Castiel into the wall and crowds him in with his body. With a harsh roll of his hips against Castiel’s he grits out, “Feel how hard I am? You’re such a little whore for it, aren’t you? Such an omega slut.”

That’s enough. A low and deadly growl surfaces from the core of Dean’s chest and then suddenly he’s ripping the perverted alpha off of Castiel and snarling at him.

The alpha, probably not having realized that Dean was even there, is completely thrown off guard and slams into the ground. Castiel lands a kick to the man’s groin, which causes him to groan in pain and clutch at the sore spot.

“Well guess what,” Castiel hisses, crouching down so that he’s right above the alpha. “This omega slut isn’t taking your shit today.”

His pride obviously wounded, but not wanting to get hurt even more than he already is, the alpha picks himself off of the ground and leaves the pizza parlor. Dean starts when Castiel’s hand rests on his upper arm.

“Dean, please stop growling, people are staring.”

Huh? Dean hears a rumbling noise and realized belatedly that it’s him. He promptly tells his inner alpha to shut the fuck up and listen to Castiel. There’s a surge of anger boiling through his veins, but he tries to control it.

“How can you be so calm when that dick just said those things about you?”

“It’s fine,” Castiel dismisses. The lady working at the counter, who must have seen the whole thing go down but very helpfully did abso-fucking-lutely nothing, calls out their order and Dean pays.

They’re in the parking lot when Dean continues the conversation. “This is not fine, Castiel,” Dean barely holds back the growl building in his throat. “It’s dicks like that that make all alphas seem terrible.” Dean puts the pizza boxes on the middle of the bench seat and turns back to look at Castiel. “Why the fuck aren’t you angrier right now.”

“Why should I be?” Castiel counters.

“Because that fucking guy tried to take you –” The _from me_ is implied, but neither of them admit to knowing it exists.

Cas huffs and throws open the passenger side door of the Impala. “I’m used to it, Dean. I’m an omega.”

“You shouldn’t be!”

“Dean, stop!” Castiel shouts, slamming the car door and fuming over to Dean. “You don’t think I’m used to this? That I’m not used to hearing the words omega slut whispered between friends while I pass in the halls? I hear this shit every goddamn day, Dean. Whore, breeder, slut, omega, abomination; I’ve heard it all. Don’t think this was a first for me. And don’t think it’ll be the last, either.”

Castiel growls and pushes Dean back against the car. Rage is rolling off of the omega in thick, strong waves. Dean growls back, his inner alpha not liking being pinned. He takes the opportunity to scent Castiel, but _again_ , there’s nothing else there. Why the hell can he not smell him?

“You think that bastard was the worst of what I’ve been exposed to?” Castiel snarls. As angry and pent up as Dean’s inner alpha is, he’s also fucking aroused. Damn him to hell, but the power that’s radiating off of the omega is the purest aphrodisiac. “Do you have any idea what Balthazar even tried to do when I told him that –”

Castiel cuts off, his eyes wide and his face pale.

A deep, murderous rage sizzles in Dean’s chest. “What. Did. He. Do?”

“Nothing,” Castiel mumbles, looking to the ground and stepping back to give Dean space. “Forget I said anything.”

A low growl reverberates in Dean’s throat, but he tramps it down.

“Castiel, tell me.”

Castiel’s eyes are fire when he looks up. “No.” With a slight tremor to his voice, Castiel says, “You are not my Alpha, you cannot make me.”

Although Dean already knew that, it still hurts like a knife to the heart. His mouth hangs open at the words and he’s sure that his eyes are taking up at least half his face. He knows that Castiel isn’t his, god he knows it, but to hear the words in the air around him…

Dean turns around and gets into the car. He grips the steering wheel and wills all of his emotions to kindly leave him the fuck alone for the ten minutes it takes to get back home. Castiel very wisely sits in the back seat as far away from Dean as possible. The omega looks shaken and upset, but it’s not Dean’s right to try and comfort him. Castiel said as much.

The ride home is quiet save for the sound of the wind whipping by and the tires on the road. Neither of them says a word. When they get home, Castiel immediately goes straight to Sam’s room. Dean deposits the pizzas in the den with the rest of the group and then escapes to his own room. The smell of devastation must be practically rolling off of him in waves because no one questions him when he says he’s headed to bed.

The lights are off and the door is closed to Sam’s room. Dean just hopes that Castiel is okay.

Because he sure as hell isn’t.

 

~*~

 

“You have to talk to him.”

“Go away, Sam…”

“Dean!”

Dean groans and rolls over in bed to face the wall. It’s been four days since he’s talked to Castiel. The omega’s been to the house multiple times to hang out with Sam, Jess, Charlie, and Benny, but he hasn’t said a word to Dean. Being the stubborn man he is, Dean hasn’t said anything to Castiel either.

“I’m not gonna talk to him until he talks to me.”

“You’re being an asshole, you know that?” Sam slumps onto Dean’s bed and pushes him farther against the wall.

“No, I didn’t,” Dean says sarcastically.

“Why do you refuse to talk to him? Do you think he doesn’t like you anymore or something?”

Dean groans even louder and scoots farther down the bed. Why won’t Sam just go away?

“I don’t think someone who whimpers when you come back after two years is just going to stop liking you because you got upset when he was harassed.”

Dean stops scooting and opens one eye. “He told you about that? How often does it – wait. He was whimpering when I got back?”

Sam pulls a bitchface. “Could you seriously not hear it?”

Dean stares off into the open space of his room for a moment before looking back at his younger brother. “I just thought that it was you.”

That earns Dean a second bitchface. “The both of you are so dense. Honestly, you’re worse than me and Jess used to be.”

Dean’s not sure what Sam means by that, and voices it. Sam rolls his eyes and smirks. “C’mon, Dean. You can’t tell me that you don’t know Castiel’s in love with you. It’s so obvious.”

He tries his best to glare at his younger brother, but the influx of information is overwhelming. _Does Castiel really love Dean? Has it always been obvious?_

Sam sighs and gives Dean a final pat on the shoulder. “You really should talk to him.” And then he leaves and closes the door behind him.

If Castiel really does love Dean, then why hadn’t he said anything? There’s no guarantee that they’re true mates, not without knowing what Castiel actually smells like, but what if they are? What if they’re both just stubborn idiots and they’ve been wasting so much time?

Dean has to talk to Castiel.

When two hours later, Castiel still hasn’t shown up at the Winchester household, Dean starts to get worried. Castiel gets here at around eleven am almost every single day. It’s one.

“You should really calm down, Dean,” Charlie says. She’s sending out soothing omega scents, but they only help so much. Dean’s leg is bouncing up and down no matter how much he tells it to stop. “If you keep looking out that window any longer it’s going to break.”

“He should be here by now,” Dean grouses. “Has he texted any of you guys back yet?”

They all reply negatively. Dammit, Dean really fucked up this time.

At two, Dean gives up. “He’s not coming.”

“Go to his house,” Jess suggests.

There really isn’t any reason he shouldn’t. Dean drives to the Novak house with wishes of good luck from Jess, Sam, Charlie, and Benny. How long have they all known and not told him?

There aren’t any cars outside of Castiel’s house, which means that his parents are at work. That’ll leave just Castiel and Dean. Steeling his nerve, Dean makes the death march to Castiel’s door singing _Final Countdown_ by Europe in his head.

When he rings the doorbell, he’s pretty sure he’s going to throw up all over Castiel’s front steps. There’s rustling from inside the house and a soft crash, which Dean furrows his forehead at.

“Who is it?” Castiel asks through the door. Dean rolls his eyes.

“It’s me.”

“Dean?”

“Yeah, open the door.”

There’s a moment of silence before Castiel asks wearily, “What do you want?”

Dean sighs. “I just want to talk to you.”

More silence follows, but this time there’s a click of a lock and then the door is being slowly pulled open. Before Dean has the chance to open his mouth to even say anything, his brain is shutting down because _that scent_ is radiating toward him. The very same scent that Dean’s been infatuated with ever since he was four years old is clouding his senses and enveloping him. Never in his life has he ever smelt it this strongly. The mix of thunderstorms and honey is overpowering.

“Holy shit,” Dean pants. “Do you sme–” Dean cuts off because _oh my god, holy shit, yes, yesyesyesyes yes_. YES. That scent is _Castiel._ The scent that’s been haunting Dean practically his entire life belongs to the most beautiful omega that Dean’s ever met.

Castiel’s pupils are blown wide, the blue ring of his iris almost nonexistent. His scent is pouring off of him in tidal waves, and his hair is even more mussed up than usual. This isn’t just Castiel’s scent, this is Castiel’s scent in _heat_.

“Caaassss,” is all Dean can manage before he’s colliding with the omega. He has no idea which one of them moved first, but they’re in the middle of the doorway and their lips are sealing together into the perfect kiss. Castiel tastes even better than he smells, which is hard to believe.

They stand there for a long time, learning each other’s mouths and feeling along their arms and chests. Dean’s inner alpha is awakening, shouting at him to claim what’s his. Because this is it, this beautiful and kind and sweet and funny and adorable omega is Dean’s true mate.

Eventually, the need to get closer and to claim is too much and Dean’s breaking away from Castiel’s lips and pushing them farther into the house. Castiel takes his hand and leads him to his bedroom. Dean’s still never actually been inside the Novak house before. It’s warm and inviting, even if Castiel’s parents are barely ever home.

Castiel’s room is all dark blues and soft greens and browns. It’s earthy and beautiful.

They fall onto the bed, Dean above Castiel, and continue to leisurely kiss. Castiel’s heat is still strong, but if Dean’s scenting is accurate, then the omega just got off fairly recently and should be okay for another few minutes.

“God, Dean,” Castiel whispers when they break apart for air. “I’ve wanted you for so long.”

“Me too,” Dean whispers back, leaning down and scenting the juncture between Castiel’s neck and shoulder. “Why couldn’t I smell you before this?”

Castiel looks away and squirms slightly under Dean’s hands. “I uh…I was – well still am – on heavy duty suppressants.” He laughs a little bit and the noise turns into a sigh when Dean softly kisses the juncture he’d been scenting. “I guess they stopped working again after we had that fight.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” Castiel whispers. “When you left for college, my suppressants stopped working then, too. My body, uh, thought that it was losing its mate.”

Dean cocks his head slightly. “You knew that we were mates?”

“ _Yes._ ” Castiel looks down ashamedly. “I went on such heavy duty suppressants, ones that would block my scent, because I didn’t think I was good enough for you. How good you were with Sam and the rest of your family and all of your friends. You’re just so _good_ and I didn’t think I deserved you. I figured you’d probably want a girl.”

“ _Cas,_ ” Dean says, and it most definitely isn’t a whine. Not at all. “From the very first time I scented you, from the first day of your life, actually, I’ve wanted you. No one else, just you.”

“What about Lisa? I thought you said you liked her.”

Dean grins and continues kissing up Castiel’s neck. “I tried to move on from you because I didn’t think you were my true mate since I couldn’t smell you. We didn’t make it through one whole date because I couldn’t stop thinking about you. She told me to go back to my omega.”

Castiel’s eyes are even wider after hearing this. He’s biting his bottom lip and watching Dean’s every move. “Balthazar knew,” he whispers. “I didn’t know it, but he did. And then as soon as my suppressants failed…he tried to claim me for his own.”

Dean growls, but it turns into a soft rumble once Castiel’s fingers twist in his hair. “Benny found us and he saved me. I broke up with him that day. I think…I think I only went out with him because it distracted me from you. But not enough.”

The scent of Castiel’s heat is starting to grow stronger around them. “I still thought of you every time he kissed me.”

Dean closes his eyes and wills his inner alpha to calm down. To know that Castiel has always loved him, it’s too much.

“I love you,” Dean whispers. Maybe he didn’t mean to say it, and maybe now isn’t the right time, but it’s true. It’s been true since he was four years old and he smelt Castiel for the first time in that over-clean hospital; since he first saw Castiel playing with Sam in the sandbox; since he first chased off a knothead from bothering Castiel. Forever. “I love you so much.”

“ _Dean_ ,” Cas says, and it almost sounds like a sob. “I love you, too.”

Their lips meet again and it’s perfect and everything that Dean’s wanted ever since he realized just how much he loves the omega that’s in his arms. When he can’t breathe any longer, he breaks away and sheds his t-shirt. Castiel watches with wide blue eyes and parted lips.

Hesitant hands reach out and splay across Dean’s chest. Castiel closes his eyes for a moment before opening them again. They’re glossy now, as if he’s holding back tears.

“I’ve wanted you for so long, Dean.”

Dean brings his hands around and circles them over Castiel’s wrists. The omega breathes lowly and turns his hands around so that they can intertwine with Dean’s.

“I dreamt of you,” Castiel whispers. “During my heats. God, Dean, I just wanted you so badly. Used to dream that you would show up out of nowhere and claim me. You triggered my first heat, you know.”

Dean leans down and pushes the hem of Castiel’s t-shirt up and over his head before pressing soft open mouthed kisses to his chest. “I did?”

“Mmhmm,” Castiel murmurs. When Dean looks up, Castiel’s eyes are shut again. “When you punched Alastair for making fun of omegas. It was the hottest thing I’d ever seen. I was only twelve, but I knew I wanted you. You’re scent is so divine, kinda like campfires and soap. Dean, I’ve used so much soap at this point it’s ridiculous. That’s when I realized we were true mates and started taking suppressants. They were faulty sometimes for the first year or so, but after that they were perfect. Except whenever you left me.”

Dean’s inner alpha absolutely purrs at this information. He can imagine Castiel sitting on the bus and trying to figure out why his body was getting so hot. Dean was so beat up that day he probably couldn’t have even smelt Castiel at all.

Castiel moans and his fingers tighten in Dean’s hair. “Dean, I need you.”

“I’ve got you,” Dean whispers. The omega’s heat pheromones are starting to get to him. There’s a pressure in the base of his cock, right where his knot will pop soon.

Castiel is squirming under Dean’s hold, rolling his hips up against Dean’s hip. The heat smell is fogging the air around them and Dean knows from health classes that Castiel is going to go feral soon if Dean doesn’t help him in some way. He wants Castiel to remember everything from their first time.

They strip out of the rest of their clothing efficiently with only minimal difficulties – Castiel’s legs totally got tangled in his jeans.

“I shouldn’t have even put any clothes back on when you rang the doorbell,” Castiel mutters, finally kicking his jeans and boxers to the side.

Dean leans down and captures Castiel’s lips in a soft kiss that quickly turns heated. Castiel responds enthusiastically, wrapping his arms around Dean’s shoulders and his legs around Dean’s waist. The grind between their groins when they perfectly match up is like heaven, making Dean moan loudly in the small room.

“C’mon,” Castiel whines. “Dean, I’m in heat, I need it.”

Dean presses a kiss to Castiel’s forehead and grinds against him harder. “I’ll take care of you, I promise.”

When one of Dean’s hands ventures down Castiel’s back and over his ass, he’s met with more slick than he’s ever seen in his entire life. His middle finger dips into Castiel’s hole easily, making the omega sigh in bliss.

“You’re so _wet,_ ” Dean says into Castiel’s skin. “So slick for me.”

“For you,” Castiel repeats. “Only for you, Alpha.”

A second finger slips in just as easily, Castiel grinding back against it. Dean kisses his temple and scissors his fingers. His free hand moves to Castiel’s cock, stroking him slowly and twisting his wrist at the head. When he’s loose enough, Dean slips in a third finger. This one makes Castiel writhe underneath him, rolling his hips against both of Dean’s hands.

“Please, Dean, Alpha, _please._ ”

“Are you on birth control?”

“ _Yes, my suppressants._ ”

Dean pulls his fingers out of Castiel’s hole and uses his slick to lubricate his cock. Castiel is panting, his blue eyes large and his fingers shaking around Dean’s shoulders.

“You want this, right?” Dean asks. “Tell me no and I’ll stop right now, I promise.”

“Dean,” Castiel growls. “Get your knot inside of me right now or I’ll do it myself.”

Without further ado, Dean lines up his cock and pushes in. The elated sigh and moan combination coming from the both of them fills the room along with their mating pheromones. Dean pauses once he’s in to the hilt, giving them both time to adjust. Castiel is so tight and hot, Dean’s afraid he’s going to pass out from over-stimulation.

“F-fuck me, Alpha,” Castiel says, and that’s all Dean needs. He pulls out almost all the way before pushing back in. Castiel moans so Dean does it again. And again. And again. He finds Castiel’s prostate soon enough and continues to nail it.

Castiel’s limbs are tight around Dean’s body and his nails are digging into his back. The omega’s eyes are squeezed shut and his lips are parted around perfect pretty moans. His entire body is flushed and covered in a thin sheen of sweat.

He looks perfect.

Dean can feel his orgasm building deep in his groin and the pressure around his knot is getting tighter and tighter. He’s going to come embarrassingly soon, but this has been so long in the making that it’s only right.

With the way that Castiel is squirming around Dean’s cock and thrusting back with every one of Dean’s thrusts, Castiel is getting close too.

“ _Cas,_ ” Dean moans, teasing his teeth over the juncture between Castiel’s neck and shoulder. Castiel’s entire body goes stiff when Dean’s teeth scrape over the skin and Dean thinks that maybe Castiel won’t want Dean to claim him today after all. That’s all right, Dean can keep himself back. He’s waited this long, he can wait a little longer.

But then Castiel absolutely loses it, squirming against Dean and clawing down his back. “D-do it, Alpha, do it, Dean! Mate me, claim me! Yours, Dean, yours.”

Dean’s inner alpha breaks through and he’s driving into Castiel with increased vigor. The omega is moaning and shouting out a mantra of “bite me, mate me, claim me” and each word is going straight to Dean’s knot.

It’s gotten big enough that it catches on Castiel’s rim with every thrust. Castiel pushes back with a particularly hard thrust and that’s all it takes for Dean’s knot to get caught and then Castiel’s screaming as he comes, painting stripes on their chests.

Dean comes inside Castiel, his knot expanding and pushing out load after load. It’s beautifully obscene. Dean clamps his jaw where his teeth were teasing before, growling out “ _mine_ ” under his breath and Castiel screams again, shaking and moaning as blood spurts into Dean’s mouth. He pulls off a few moments later and licks the wound clean.

“You came untouched,” Dean pants.

“I came for my Alpha.”

The words cause Dean to shiver and another load of come to be released from his knot and into Castiel.

“After all this time, I’m glad I have you,” Castiel whispers and kisses Dean. They maneuver so that they’re lying on their sides facing each other. Dean’s knot won’t go down for another forty minutes at least.

“So,” Castiel whispers. “For how long will you stay with me?”

Dean grins and kisses Castiel’s lips softly. Castiel is his and he is Castiel’s. Things may not be easy, but they’ll make it. After all, they’ve made it for sixteen years. “Forever and ever.”

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me [here](http://castielskeytotheimpala.tumblr.com/) on tumblr! :)


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